Mikado Biscuits...

I'm not going to lie... these take a little more patience than is required for most of my recipes, but I promise they're so nice, it's well worth it!! They're not difficult to make so don't be deterred...

I often marvel at how little patience I have generally, but when it comes to baking and cooking, I'll happily spend hours in the kitchen fussing over the smallest, most intricate details! 

For the biscuit base: 

• 200g ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp raw Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp water

Add all the ingredients to a bowl.

Mix until well combined. Depending on the type of ground almostyou're using, the mixture may look a little dry, if so add another tsp of water. You're looking for a firm dough. 

Place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 160d (fan).

Once chilled, roll out the dough to approx 1/2 inch thickness between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper. 

Use a square cookie cutter to form the base. Place on a non stick baking tray. 

Bake for 9-12 minutes until slightly golden. Keep an eye on them as they go from underdone to charcoal pretty quickly... 

Set aside to cool on a wire rack. 

For the raspberry jam filling: 

• 150g frozen raspberries
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Add the raspberries and lemon juice to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and allow to simmer over a low heat for approx 5 minutes to allow the jam to thicken. 

For the raspberry marshmallow topping: 

• 3 egg whites
• 2 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 sachet Gelatin powder
• 50g frozen raspberries
• 3 tbsp water

Place raspberries & water into the microwave for 20 seconds at a time. Stir and mash in between each 20 second burst until the raspberries are softened, broken up and the mixture is steaming.

Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the hot raspberry mixture and set aside to dissolve. It's really important to pour the gelatin onto the liquid and not the other way around or you'll end up with a hard lump. Also make sure the liquid is steaming hot (not boiling) before adding the gelatin or it won't dissolve fully.

Next add the egg whites, honey & vanilla to a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water.

Whisk the mixture constantly until it forms stiff glossy peaks. (If you don't whisk constantly, you'll end up with scrambled egg whites). This should take about 5 minutes.

At this stage, your gelatin should have dissolved, cooled and will be ready to use. It's important that both the gelatin mix & the egg white mixture are approx the same temperature, otherwise the gelatin will set too quickly and form strings... The egg white mixture will be warm, just make sure the gelatin has cooled sufficiently.. 

Add the gelatin mixture to the egg white gradually, whisking constantly. I recommend pouring the gelatin in a slow, steady stream. Once fully combined, you can stop whisking.

To assemble: 

• 50g unsweetened dessicated coconut

Using a small piping nozzle, pipe a narrow line of the cooled raspberry jam down the centre of each biscuit base. 

Next using a medium sized star nozzle, pipe marshmallow on either size of the jam filling. 

Coat generously with dessicated coconut. 

Leave aside to set for 30 minutes before serving. 

Mint Chocolate Slice...

A good friend of mine was diagnosed as Coeliac a couple of years ago and after spending a fortune on gluten free products ranging from cakes to breads and pasta, he gave up. He found he was paying way over the odds for GF products that didn't even taste nice, simply to say he could still eat cake. After over 18 months of never having a treat (or sneaking the occasional wheat flour cookie & feeling ill afterwards), he has started baking my recipes. He feels great, like he isn't missing out on anything, and as someone who trains quite hard for his chosen sport, he's thrilled that he's not sabotaging his efforts by eating processed foods containing all sorts of unpronounceable ingredients. 

Inspired by a trip to a cafe last week, he asked me to make a mint chocolate tray bake....EASY!!! Super easy to make and amazing tasting, I can't wait to hear if you manage to just eat one!! 

For the chocolate cake:

• 150g butter, melted
• 3 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 4 eggs, separated
• 100g ground almonds
• 60g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp GF baking powder

Preheat oven to 160d (fan). Line an 8" square tin with baking parchment. 

Mix melted butter, honey, vanilla & mint with the egg yolks until well combined. 

Stir in the ground almonds, cocoa & baking powder. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff glossy peaks. 

Fold egg whites into the ground almond mixture gradually until fully mixed. Do this in a couple of stages to avoid knocking out the air from the mixture. 

Pour into prepared tin & bake for 15 minutes until risen and firm to touch. 

Set aside to cool. 

For the mint filling: 

• 1 large avocado
• 200g mascarpone (Quark, Fromage Frais or Coconut Cream will work here too) 
• 2 tsp mint extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp Irish honey

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth, creamy consistency....It's really important not to taste the filling at this stage (you'll definitely be tempted to eat it all with a spoon!)

Spread an even layer over the cooled chocolate cake. 

For the chocolate topping: 

• 100g dark chocolate (I used 85% cocoa solids)
• 1 tsp coconut oil (gives chocolate glossy appearance & prevents chocolate setting fully and cracking when sliced)

Melt the chocolate & oil together until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool slightly before spreading on top of the mint filling. 

Allow to set before cutting into slices. 

Jaffa Cake Cake...

This is a good one! You want to make this... it's amazing! I've got this friend who adores Jaffa Cakes... I made this cake with him in mind and I'll definitely be baking one specially for him.

It's basically a giant Jaffa Cake.... moist orange cake, topped with orange jelly and chocolate.... perfect if you're looking for a cake to bake for friends. It's a bit WOW, and they'll never believe that it's not loaded with sugar... best of all... it's really simple to make! 

For the cake:

• 2 large oranges
• 6 eggs
• 5 tbsp raw organic honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 275g ground almonds
• 2 tsp gluten free baking powder

Start by placing the oranges into a large saucepan. Cover with water & bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 2 hours. 

Once you have boiled the oranges, drain the water and allow them to cool. I chopped them into chunks as they'll cook a lot faster than the whole oranges. 

Preheat oven to 170d (fan). Line a 9 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper. 

When the oranges are fully cooled, using a stick blender/food processor, purée the oranges until smooth & set aside. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla & honey together until pale & frothy. 

Next fold in the cooled orange purée slowly. 

Finally add the ground almonds & baking powder. Stir gently until just combined. 

Pour the mixture into prepared tin & bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. (Ground almonds can burn quite easily as it cooks so if you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly, place a sheet of tin foil over the top of the cake to protect it.) 

You can check to make sure the cake is baked by sliding a skewer into the centre.... if it comes out with no cake batter on it, then it's ready. If not, place it back in the oven for another couple of minutes... different ovens vary so just use 1 hour as a guide :) 

Allow the cake to cool & firm up in the tin for 5 minutes. You can then remove it and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the Jaffa topping: 

• juice of 3 large oranges
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp Irish honey
• 100ml water 
• 2 sachets of powdered gelatin (12g sachet x 2) 

Line an 8" round tin with cling film. 

Mix the first 5 ingredients together and heat to just before boiling point. 

Remove approx 150ml of the hot liquid and place in a separate shallow bowl. 

Sprinkle the 2 sachets of gelatin over the hot liquid & set aside to dissolve for 5 minutes. Once fully dissolved, stir gently to ensure there are no lumps remaining. 

Pour the gelatin mixture back into the remaining liquid gradually, whisking constantly to prevent the gelatin forming lumps or strings in the mixture.  

Once fully combined, pour into the prepared tin & place in the fridge until set.

To assemble: 

• 125g dark chocolate (minimum 81% cocoa solids)

I sliced the cake in half horizontally & iced with my Chocolate Sweet Potato icing . 

This is totally optional (and probably a little OTT!). The cake would be amazing even if you just follow the next couple of steps.. 

Simply invert the Jaffa jelly disc onto the centre of the cake. 

Melt 125g dark chocolate and spread evenly over the top of the jelly. 

Don't worry about the chocolate flowing down the sides of the cake... 

Allow the chocolate to set before serving. Store this cake in the fridge. 

Raspberry Frozen Yoghurt...

It's summer!! Yeah I know it doesn't look like it... but at least it's not raining! Irish people LOVE ice cream. Rain, hail or shine, most of us will be tempted to indulge..

Recently, I've noticed more and more varieties of frozen yoghurt on the market. Often it's marketed as the 'healthier, fat-free' alternative to ice cream....Alarm bells should be ringing in your head! If you take anything from GLBTK please let it be that fat does NOT make you fat (do avoid trans fats though!)!! Stop choosing the fat free, low fat or calorie free options.... Actually, on that last one.... zero calories foods do not exist, even celery has calories! I dread to think what's actually in these calorie free salad dressings or drinks, you can be sure it's not good for you..

As usual, I digress...My point (I swear I have one) is that you really need to be careful about the choices you make. Whilst commercially produced frozen yoghurt may seem like the healthy option, often it contains far more sugar than traditional ice cream...

So.... my instant Raspberry Frozen Yoghurt...It's YUMMY, low in sugar & has lots of protein & fat from the Greek yoghurt... Not a bad summer time treat!

Serves 4 

500g Greek yoghurt
250g frozen raspberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp Irish honey

Simply place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. (I like leaving chunks of raspberries for texture).

Scoop into bowls immediately & serve with fresh raspberries and warm grilled peaches. (You could use frozen peaches to make a peach frozen yoghurt too... it's delicious!)

You can freeze it, but be aware it will get really solid so take out of the freezer in advance so you can scoop it easily.